Andromeda Jackson
by HiddenDemigod
Summary: What if Percy had a twin sister? Andromeda was taken from Sally the night she was born and given to Chiron, who raised her at Camp Half-Blood.
1. Prologue

Prologue

Early in the morning on August 18th, a woman gave birth to two children. The babies, a boy and a girl, took after their father, with black hair and pale skin. The little boy looked up at his mother with wide green eyes, while the girl peeped around the room with eyes that were blue-green.

"Poseidon, I wish you could be here to see your children," whispered Sally Jackson.

Late that night, when the babies had been put to sleep and the nurses were in their beds, a man appeared in the hospital room. Poseidon looked lovingly at Sally, sound asleep in her bed, then approached the two children.

"Perseus and Andromeda. Beautiful names for beautiful children," he said quietly, looking down proudly at the sleeping forms. "I won't burden her with two children. It would kill her." He reached down and picked up Andromeda. Looking once more at Sally, he disappeared, taking the baby girl with him.

Chiron was woken late at night by the sound of a wailing child. He sleepily rose and clopped to the door. When he had opened it and looked down, he saw a baby girl, still wrapped in her hospital blanket, with a letter on top. He scooped up the now quiet child and returned to his room. He rocked the baby back to sleep, and then lay her down on the pile of blankets that served as his bed. He then opened the letter, wondering who would leave their child at Camp Half-Blood.

_Dear Chiron,_ it read.

_I loathe to do this, but I must ask you to raise Andromeda for her mother and myself. I would not ask you, but Andromeda has a twin brother, and her mother could not raise the two of them without killing herself. Many thanks and blessings to you._

Ποσείδων ≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈

Chiron smiled down at the baby girl. "Of course I will raise her, Poseidon," he said, seemingly to himself. Distant thunder rolled, as if in acknowledgement.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Andy!" Andromeda turned at the sound of her name, and smiled at the blond girl who rushed up to her.

"Silena! I thought you were going shopping?" Andy knew how much her friend loved to shop. As a daughter of Aphrodite, it was perfectly natural.

"Of course I am. You're turning 6 tomorrow, and I still don't have a present for you. But I managed to convince Chiron to let you and Katie come with me." Katie Gardner, a daughter of Demeter, was the third girl in their trio of friends. She was the cool head among them. Silena was impetuous, always rushing ahead, and Andy rarely stopped to think about the consequences of her actions. Katie made sure that they stayed out of trouble most of the time. She was also the oldest, nearly a year older than Andy and a few months older than Silena.

"Ooh, I bet she'll know the best stores in New York! I can't wait for some real caffeine!" Living at camp, there was no caffeine and no unhealthy food. When they were allowed out of camp, the first place they went was a candy shop and a fast food restaurant.

"When are we going?" Andy asked Silena.

"As soon as you two are ready!" Together they rushed off to find their friend.

Katie lived in Cabin 4, with her half siblings. They were all children of Demeter, the goddess of the harvest and grain, so Katie and her siblings were very good with plants. Katie could even manipulate plants, making them spontaneously appear and grow how she wanted them to. She had long golden brown hair, warm brown eyes, and a stern face when she wasn't smiling. When they entered her cabin, though, her face broke into a wide grin as she caught sight of them.

"What are you two up to now?" she asked them, getting to her feet.

"Nothing much. I just convinced Chiron to let the three of us go to the city to shop," said Silena nonchalantly. Katie squealed happily.

"When do we leave?" she asked excitedly.

"As soon as you're ready!" At that, Katie rushed out the door.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" she looked over her shoulder at them. The three of them rushed up Half Blood Hill, heading for the non-descript van that waited for them at the bottom of the other side of the hill. They piled in, chattering gleefully, grateful for the chance to get out of camp. Silena and Andy were year-rounders, never leaving camp unless it was one of the rare occasions they were allowed into the city for a shopping spree. Chiron had given Silena their credit cards, which were kept with him so that they couldn't run away and get themselves killed by the monsters that always found loose half-bloods. As always, they were so relieved to see the outside world that they would hardly buy anything, just look at everything. Katie lived with her father during the school year, and so had no money with her.

"Hi Argus!" Andy said to the driver. He looked like a typical Californian surfer, except for the fact that his body was covered with eyes. He nodded in response to Andy's greeting. Argus never spoke, because it was rumored that he had eyes even on his tongue.

The van started for New York City, making good time along the country roads that surrounded camp. The three girls chattered excitedly about what they were going to do when they got to the city, while Argus sat silently in the driver's seat. The girls didn't even notice when they hit a ton of traffic going into the city, they were so excited to get out of camp.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Finally they got to New York City. Argus dropped them off in Central Park. The first place they went, as always, was Sweet on America, the nearest candy store. They walked in, expecting to see their friend who worked the cash register greeting them, but she was missing. Instead there was a woman who looked to be about 30 manning the register. She had short brown hair and blue eyes that were startlingly like Andy's. Katie walked up to her and introduced herself.

"Hi, I was wondering if you knew where Ellen is," she said.

"I'm sorry, I think she retired. Did you know her?"

Andy piped up from behind Katie. "Yes, she was a good friend of ours." The woman looked at her, glanced away, then did a double-take.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" She looked slightly confused.

"No, I don't think so." Andy was slightly apprehensive. She didn't like the way that the woman was looking at her. She was saved when the door opened and a young boy burst in.

"Mom! Guess what we did in school today? We go to make clay sculptures and I get to bring mine home tomorrow!" He was clearly very proud of his sculpture, and wanted his mom to be too.

"That's great, Percy. You can tell me all about it when we go home, okay? Why don't you go sit in the storeroom and work on your homework?" The lady gently shooed her son toward the back of the store, but he had caught sight of the three girls.

"Hi, I'm Percy! Who are you?" He was pretty cute, and looked about Andy's age, maybe a little younger. His black hair was tousled, but his green eyes sparkled with curiosity.

"I'm Silena, and this is Katie and her cousin Andy." Silena, by far the prettiest of the three, sidled up to him. "Do you think you could show me where the jelly beans are? I haven't been here in a while, and I am craving jelly beans." With that, Silena walked away with Percy. Katie shrugged and walked off into the racks of candy. Andy said a quick "thank you" to the woman, whose nametag read Sally Jackson, then followed Katie into the depths of the candy store.

After buying enough candy to make them sick, the trio left Sweet on America, leaving the amazing store and the cute boy behind.

"So, what's he like? Is he as nice as he is cute?" Katie wanted all of the details.

"He is incredibly nice, but he reminded me scarily of Andy here," Silena responded as they walked down the street toward the shopping area. "Ooh, look Andy! Can I get you that for your birthday?" She was pointing to a gorgeous necklace that hung in the window of Tiffany's. Handing from a delicate silver chain, there was a rearing horse made of a topaz that matched Andy's eyes exactly. It was as if the necklace had been made for her.

"It's amazing!" Andy exclaimed. They rushed into the store and asked how much it was.

"Its $750, sweethearts. I'm sorry, but I think that it's a bit out of your price range. Over here, though, we have a wonderful selection of bracelets that would be more affordable." The saleslady tried to steer them toward the bracelet area, which was crowded with other girls their age and their parents.

"No, thank you. We would like that necklace," Silena was very determined.

"I can't let you buy that for me, Silena!" Andy started to object, but then Katie chimed in.

"It can be from both of us. Just don't expect a Christmas present for the next 3 years."

At that, Andy acquiesced. She had really wanted the necklace in the first place, so little persuasion was needed. They bought the jewelry, then left the store, chatting happily about the party Chiron was throwing the next day for Andy. They stopped by a Five Guys before they got back in the van, contentedly munching on French fries doused in enough grease to fill a drinking glass and talking about the stores they had passed and what dresses they were going to buy when they were older. When they reached camp, they tumbled out and hurried to the Big House to show Chiron the necklace.

"Its very beautiful, girls, but where on earth will you wear it?" Chiron was, as always, very practical.

"Well, I can wear it on my birthday," said Andy slowly. "But other than that, I don't know. I can wear it when we go to the city." They hadn't thought that through when they had bought the necklace, only that it was gorgeous and matched Andy's eyes perfectly.

"When you think of where Andy can wear it, let me know. Until then, maybe I should keep it in the Big House. At least until you're older, Andromeda," he said when he saw the refusal in her eyes. "Then you can keep it in your cabin. But I'm worried that you will lose it in your cabin, or that the Hermes cabin will find it. You wouldn't want that to happen, now, would you?" He had them there. "Why don't you run along and have some fun. I'll call you if anything big happens." They smiled and ran off toward the volleyball court where they gathered a bunch of satyrs and campers for an epic game of volleyball.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Nearly two years later, a couple of months before Andy's 8th birthday, she was woken in the middle of the night by the sounds of fighting. Even at a camp that had a sword-fighting arena and an armory that Agamemnon would be jealous of, night-time fights were nearly unheard of. The only one that Andy could remember was when the Ares kids found the Hermes kids trying to paint their cabin yellow.

Andy slipped out of bed, her hair hanging nearly to her knees, and grabbed her sword, which was sitting on the bedside table. Normally, it looked like a hairpin, and she used it to keep her braided hair in a bun. That way it was easy to reach and didn't cause alarm. Now, however, she twisted the smooth base of the pin and it morphed into a hand-and-a-half celestial bronze sword with a cut sapphire at the base, just like the pin. Quietly, she slid into her sneakers, not bothering with socks, and slipped out into the night.

Once out of her cabin, she stood still, locating the noise. It was coming from the direction of Half-Blood Hill, the entrance to camp. She picked up a light jog, knowing that it was probably new campers. Most of the time, though, they came during the day and without monsters of their heels. Since it was winter, Andy was practically the only one at camp, and the ones that were there were sound sleepers. She knew it would take the roof falling on their heads to wake them up, and she really didn't have that kind of time. She reached the Big House and considered waking Chiron up, but knew that that too would take too much time and more likely than not, she would wake up Mr. D too. She really didn't want to do that. He was not a morning person. Or a night person. Or really a nice person at all.

Once she reached the top of the hill, she saw the fight. Andy recognized the satyr, one named Grover, who had been sent to find a very powerful half-blood. He had three half-bloods with him, which was probably why the monsters had been so close. They probably gave off a scent that could be smelled across the country. The three half-bloods, two girls and a boy, were trying to fend off the monsters, but were incredibly outnumbered. Andy knew that entering the fight would most likely be suicidal, but she had to help. When an empousa tried to sneak around the tall black-haired girl, she neatly beheaded it. Unfortunately, that drew the attention of the rest of the monsters, and they circled her so that she was cut off from the newbies and couldn't help at all. She sliced and hacked, killing monster after monster, but they just kept coming. Finally, the black-haired girl, clearly the one in charge, told the rest of them to retreat. Andy surged against the monsters separating her from the girl, and finally got herself back-to-back with her.

"If you back up a few more feet, you will be safe," Andy panted. The girl didn't even waver.

"Get back in the camp," she told Andy. "I can keep them distracted long enough for you to get Annabeth, Luke, and Grover to the border. Go!" she shouted when Andy hesitated. Andy, used to obeying commands, ran, dragging the others with her. The older girl fought her way to the boundary, and had nearly reached it when a monster managed to get past her defense. Its sword was close to delivering a killing blow when a bolt of lightning struck the girl. When the light cleared, there was a pine tree where the girl had been. The other girl, a blond who looked about Andy's age, cried out.  
>"Thalia!" She tried to run forward, but the boy grabbed her before she moved two steps. "Luke, let me go! I'm going to kill them!" She struggled, trying to get to the monster, but the boy didn't let go.<p>

"Annabeth, Thalia wouldn't want you to. Besides, if you go out there, you will get yourself killed, and them her sacrifice would have been for nothing." He spoke quickly, soothingly, knowing that he had to convince her to stop before she realized that she had a knife that would be more effective than struggling. After he said that, she went limp. Once he was convinced that she wasn't going to rush out and attack the monsters, which were already leaving, he turned to Andy.

"Who are you?" he asked frankly.

"I am Andromeda, daughter of Poseidon. Who are you?" she replied, just as frank.

"I'm Luke, and this is Annabeth. Grover is our satyr," he said. Andy nodded, then said, "If you will please follow me, I can introduce you to Chiron and then find you a place to sleep." With that, she turned and walked down the hill. She heard footsteps behind her, following her to the Big House. When they got to the porch, she said, "Could you wait here for a minute? I need to wake Chiron and Mr. D." She spun on her heel and disappeared into the house.

Andy walked confidently down the halls of the Big House. She had spent the first few years of her life there and knew the layout like the palm of her hand. She knocked timidly on Chiron's door, then entered.

"Chiron, there are two new campers and a satyr out on the porch. They don't know why they are here and probably need the initiation video. I lost one at the top of the hill; she got turned into a pine tree." She said it in such a rush that Chiron could barely understand her. He told her to slow down, and she repeated her spiel. Chiron frowned slightly, then rose and quickly headed down the hall.

"Please take them to the living room. Mr. D and I will meet you there," he told her over his shoulder. Andy nodded, then set off in the opposite direction. She pushed open the door, invited the two half-bloods in (Grover had already disappeared into the forest), and led them to the living room, as per orders.

"If you could wait here for a few minutes, Mr. D and Chiron will meet you here shortly." She let out a jaw-splitting yawn. "Please tell them that I went back to bed." She turned to go when the girl's voice stopped her.

"You have a cut on your cheek. Don't you want it fixed?" Her grey eyes were wide and innocent. Andy lifted a hand to her cheek and pulled it back, feeling the warm stickiness of blood.

"I've had worse," she said, shrugging off the other girl's concern. "Good-night." With that, she went back to bed.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

The next morning, she woke up and went to breakfast as always. She saw the two new campers at the bottom of the Hermes table, where all of the new or undetermined campers went. As they went up, though, images appeared above their heads. Over Luke's head was a caduceus, the symbol of Hermes. Over Annabeth's head was a beautiful grey owl, the sign of Athena. Nobody was really surprised, seeing as she had the grey eyes and blond hair of the children of Athena.

Annabeth moved to the Athena table and Luke went back to the Hermes table, not looking surprised. Andy had a sneaking suspicion that Luke had known that he was the son of Hermes because he had not been surprised when he had been told that the Olympians existed or when he had learned that his father was one of them.

After lunch, Chiron summoned Andy to the Big House. "Will you assess Luke and Annabeth in the arena, please? I know that usually I have someone older do this, but you are the most experienced here right now and I think that they have both had meager training from what Grover tells me. They escaped a Cyclops on the way here, along with other monsters." Chiron was in his magic wheelchair so Andy had to look down to meet his eyes.

"Sure, Chiron. But shouldn't Jake test Luke? I don't think that he'll listen to me. I'm not sure Annabeth will either, but she's closer to my age." Andy was excited by the chance to prove that she was actually learning and that she should be allowed to join the Ares cabin for sword fighting. They were the best, but Chiron didn't trust them not to hurt Andy too badly.

"No, Andy. I want you to do this. I think it's time you start practicing with the Ares cabin," Chiron said.

"Really?" she asked, delighted. Chiron was like a father to her, and was constantly worried that she would be unduly hurt if he let her practice with the Ares cabin. "Thanks, Chiron! I'll try not to get myself killed," she said with a smile, even though they both knew her words were more than just a jest. With that, she dashed off to collect the new campers and get them proper weapons.

About three hours later, it was nearly dinnertime and Andy was still evaluating Annabeth and Luke. Luke was good, for having little training, and was holding his own against her. Sweat was pouring down her face, and she knew that if she didn't finish this soon, she would make a stupid mistake in front of them. That would be mortally embarrassing, for her and for the camp. In a flash, she hooked her sword around Luke's hilt in a move she had recently learned and sent the sword flying. As soon as it was out of his grasp, she slid the sword up to his throat.

"Good job. For someone who's never taken sword-fighting lessons, you held out for a really long time," she panted out, tired despite herself. "Okay, your turn Annabeth."

The blond girl walked out into the arena, her knife in hand. Both she and Luke had refused a new blade, claiming that their weapons were perfectly good. Andy took a sip of water, then joined her in the middle of the arena. Chiron, who was overseeing, motioned for them to start. They circled each other until, fast as lightning, Annabeth lunged for Andy's unprotected left side. Andy dodged easily and continued circling, watching for the blond girl's next move. Annabeth feinted to the right, then lunged for Andy's throat. Andy slid her sword up Annabeth's shorter blade, easily disarming her in a similar move to the one she had used on Luke. Her sword snaked up to Annabeth's throat and rested at its base, a killing blow if that had been her intention. Annabeth put her hands up in surrender and stepped back. Andy lowered her sword, rather put out that Annabeth hadn't put up a better fight. She was sure that if it were a life-or-death situation, Annabeth would be at least as good as herself, possibly better. She had to have been, or they wouldn't have made it this far.

"Can we try that again?" she asked. "Annabeth, I saw you do much better last night. This is life or death!" Annabeth nodded her assent and stooped to grab her knife. Before Andy even processed that the other girl had picked up the weapon, Annabeth slashed viciously at Andy's face. Only incredibly well developed reflexes prevented Annabeth from slicing Andy's cheek off. As it was, there was a shallow gash down the side of Andy's face. Andy immediately retaliated with a swipe at Annabeth's side, nearly caught off balance when the other girl skipped out of reach. She quickly recovered and followed up with a cut to the other side and a slash at Annabeth's chest. Annabeth lost her footing and fell in the sand. Before she could scramble to her feet, Andy's blade rested at her neck.

"Much better," Chiron commented. Andy lowered her sword and held out her hand to Annabeth, pulling the other girl to her feet. The moment Annabeth had her feet under her, she lashed out, slicing Andy's sword arm with a deep cut. Andy dropped her shield and switched her sword to her left hand and struck out at the blond, lopping off a bit of hair. They fought viciously for a few moments, then Annabeth's knife went flying through the air, to be caught by Andy. The black-haired girl placed her sword tip at Annabeth's throat, thus ending the bout.

**Note: I am leaving for camp tomorrow, so will not be posting for at least three weeks. Have a great summer, folks!**


	6. Author's Note

**Author's Note**

**Okay, so you are all going to hate me, but I kinda ran out of ideas, because I really do not want to rewrite the entire PJandO series (it would really suck). I was thinking maybe of making it a PJ/HP crossover, because they are the two best series in the world. If you would actually like to see more of Andy, then please tell me so, in a PM or in the reviews. If a bunch of people don't review, then I will probably move on to another fanfic.**

**Also, I forgot the disclaimer, but I hope you have figured out that I am NOT Rick Riordan and therefore do NOT own any of the characters except for Andy.**

**Thank you for reading this; it is a real honor to know that people are interested enough to actually read my writing. You are all amazing!**


	7. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thank you people who reviewed! Okay, I have taken way too long to update, I know, so here's the next chapter. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or any of his friends/enemies (sadness), I only own Andy.**

Chapter 5

By the time winter was over, Andy and Annabeth had become great friends. The threesome of Andy, Katie, and Silena had become a foursome. Annabeth proved to be a sweet girl, despite being a bit of a know-it-all, and really good at coming up with ways to get back at the Hermes cabin when their pranks got out of hand. Soon it was Andy's 9th birthday, then her 10th. She was given a quest, to get a handful of fleece from the golden (carnivorous) rams of the sun. Andy was a bit disappointed, seeing as Psyche, goddess of souls, had done this task while she had been human. Since it was October, Katie was in school. Annabeth had been charged with keeping the other two girls alive, since she had spent over a year on the run from monsters.

"Annabeth, Silena! Hurry up!" Andy cried as she rushed up the big hill to Thalia's Pine. Thalia, the daughter of Zeus and Andy's cousin, was the girl that had sacrificed herself to get Annabeth and Luke into camp all those years ago.

"We're coming! Jeez," Silena called. "The fleece isn't going anywhere." The raven-haired girl trudged up the hill, Annabeth right behind her.

"But this is my first quest! I don't want to be too slow, or might not get another one!" Andy was bouncing on the balls of her feet just inside the border, unwilling to cross it for once. There was no Delphi Strawberries van waiting to take them to New York; they had to get to the rams and back without any help from Chiron. That didn't mean that they couldn't contact him, but he couldn't give them transportation anywhere.

The two other girls reached the top of the hill, and they set off. Annabeth had warned Andy and Silena that they couldn't trust anyone, especially people who were being really nice. It seemed backwards, but Annabeth was the one with first-hand experience, so they followed her lead. It didn't hurt that she was a daughter of Athena, either.

After about an hour after leaving camp, they caught a taxi to Central Station. There was no way they could walk all the way to wherever the rams were, and Andy couldn't go on an airplane, considering that her uncle Zeus would blast her and anyone with her out of the sky. They booked a train to St. Louis, right in the middle of the country, thinking that that would be the easiest place to start. Andy had suggested they start in DC, but Annabeth said that there were too many monsters there for it to be safe. Arriving at Central Station, they headed to the ticket counter. Everything was going fine until they got to the window.

"Can I please see some ID or permission from your parents? We don't allow minors to travel unaccompanied without written permission from your guardians," the lady behind the counter told them.

"Just a minute," Andy said, taking off her backpack and looking for the paper that Chiron had given her. Suddenly there was a loud scream from behind the girls. The lady at the window turned white and disappeared from view as she ducked.

"Already? I was hoping that we could go at least a day without getting attacked," Silena whined. "I'm going to mess up my hair!" Andy sighed and shook her head. Typical Silena.

"I thought we broke her of that habit," Annabeth whispered to Andy. Andy smiled wryly, pulling out her sword. Annabeth had her knife out, and Silena had pulled out a bow and a quiver of arrows. There was no way that a daughter of Aphrodite would go anywhere near a monster; the danger to their hair, makeup, and clothes was too great. As the monster came at them, the three young demigods paled. It was a huge black dog with glowing red eyes. It snarled, displaying fangs longer than Andy's hair.

"Hellhound," Annabeth whispered, her grey eyes widening.

"Great. Now we know what we're going to be eaten by," Andy said, her quavering voice thick with sarcasm. The others were too preoccupied with how to go about attacking it to tell her off for rudeness. When it got close, Andy lunged for the throat. Her sword sliced through the thick fur at the neck, but didn't kill the dog. Silena had climbed atop one of the counters and was raining arrows on the beast, while Annabeth had put on her magic Yankees cap that made her invisible. From the way the dog spun around crazily, Andy guessed that Annabeth had jumped on its back. Taking advantage of the distraction, Andy lunged at the throat once more, this time sliding under the creature's head and stabbing it in the chest. With a yelp, the hellhound dissolved into yellow dust.

"Less than a day and we've already been attacked by monsters. I think that this may be a new camp record," Andy commented as she and Annabeth brushed monster dust off their shirts. Silena jumped off the counter and joined them, stowing her bow and arrows as she did so. Andy and Annabeth hurriedly stowed their weapons as well, hoping that nobody had seen what had happened. No such luck.

"What on Earth just happened?" the lady from behind the counter asked. "Did you just kill that poor dog? Security!" she called. "Security! These people have weapons!"

"Time to go," Annabeth said, grabbing the two black haired girls and dragging them out of the train station.

"How in Zeus's name will we get to St. Louis now?" Andy moaned. Thunder rolled ominously in the distance.


	8. Chapter 6

**A/N: School is starting soon, so I wont be able to update as often as we all would like. Also, if you think that I own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, then you should probably see the nearest psychologist. Why would Rick Riordan be writing fanfiction?**

Chapter 6

The three girls ran out of Central Station and hailed the nearest taxi. Hopping in, they asked the driver to take them to Times Square, where they could sit at their booth at Five Guys and plan their next move. Entering the fast food place, they found that their usual booth was occupied by a mother and son. The mother had brown hair and blue eyes, and she looked somewhat familiar. The boy's back was to them, so all they could tell was that he had black hair. The three girls ordered their usual, hamburgers and large fries, then slid into the booth behind the two strangers. Silena and Andy were trying to figure out where they had seen the two before, but Annabeth said that she had never seen them before.

Suddenly Silena let out a small cry. "I know where we've seen them before! She's the lady who works at Sweet on America! You know, the candy store nearby," she whispered excitedly. Andy nodded, realizing that Silena was right, then sighed.

"We still need to get to St. Louis," she announced glumly. Annabeth looked at her friend strangely.

"Who said it has to be St. Louis? We could just as easily go to DC, which is closer," the blond said sensibly.

"The Oracle said St. Louis," Andy replied, her eyebrows furrowing as she remembered the prophecy.

"What exactly did the prophecy say? You never told us," Silena asked, checking her hair in the napkin dispenser.

"_Under the arch where the waters run deep,_

_and the very rocks are known to weep,_

_you will find a spirit to help your path_

_and escape a sun god's wrath._

_To find the rams you need things three:_

_A pebble, a flute, and a golden key._

_To escape with the golden fleece,_

_You must sacrifice the great god's niece._

_She is never to return again_

_To that which she calls home with her friends._"

When Andy had finished, her two friends were stricken.

"Why didn't you tell us this sooner? Why did you even come on this quest? It clearly says that you're going to die!" Silena was distraught, her blue eyes wide.

Annabeth nodded. "Zeus is the great god, and as the daughter of his brother, you are his niece. The prophecy says that you will never return to your home, which is Camp Half-Blood. If you don't go back to camp, you will be killed by monsters. Also, that doesn't mean St. Louis."

"Wait, what? Of course it means St. Louis. The Gateway Arch is on the bank of the Mississippi River. _Under the arch where the waters run deep_. Arch plus water equals St. Louis," Andy told her friend. Annabeth was usually quite smart, but clearly she wasn't thinking this through, or was trying to stop the quest out of misguided loyalty to the daughter of Poseidon.

Annabeth shook her head. "But the next line says, _where even the rocks are known to weep_. It is referring to the Natural Bridge. The rocks run with water, and the bridge passes over a stream."

Andy nodded at this. She hadn't really considered that line, but it made sense now.

"Hold up one minute. Why are you both a-okay with Andy being SACRIFICED? Am I the only one who had a problem with this? You are both sick," Silena exclaimed. The other two hurriedly shushed her, but it was too late. The boy behind them turned around, displaying brilliant green eyes half-hidden under a mop of black hair.

"Who's Andy? And why is she being sacrificed?" His mother looked at them, concerned, until Annabeth spoke up.

"She's the main character in the book we have to read for school. She's being sacrificed because her mom made a god mad," the blond said matter-of-factly. Andy noticed that the mother paled when they mentioned a god, but the woman spoke with an even voice.

"Percy, it's rude to eavesdrop. Please forgive my son," she added, addressing the trio. "He still hasn't quite learned any manners."

The girls smiled and assured the nice woman that it was no problem, really, then got up to leave. Heading out the door, Andy and Annabeth scolded Silena for nearly getting them arrested or something.

"I know that you hat your name, Andy, but it sure is useful sometimes," Annabeth said jokingly. Andy smiled slightly, and Annabeth continued. "I think that if we catch a train from Central Station, which should have calmed down by now, to DC, we can take a taxi to the Natural Bridge from there."

"Why don't we just rent a car here, drive down, and bring it back when we're done?" Silena asked.

"Can you drive? Because I sure can't," Andy said to her slightly air-brained friend.

Silena blushed. "Oh, right." Andy sighed then, and they all headed back to the train station to see if they could get their ticket in peace this time.

**A/N: I know that the prophecy is awful. Hey, I made no claims to being a poet. Apollo clearly skipped me when handing out blessings. **** Also, CLIFFHANGER! Oooh, I got you guys! What is going to happen next? Even I don't know at this point…**


	9. Chapter 7

**A/N: I know I haven't updated in forever, and I really apologize for the short chapter, but school is in full swing and my mother has me taking every standardized test known to man, plus in all my free time I have to study for AP testing… in May. I finally got enough time to throw this together. P.S. did anyone else hate the ending for SoN? Why didn't we get to find out who was on the ship? Gah!**

**Disclaimer: If I was Rick Riordan, the ending for SoN would have been way better!**

Chapter 7

After standing in a very long line and finally getting their tickets to DC, the girls boarded the train and quickly found an empty set of benches. They immediately started planning how they would get to the Natural Bridge, since it was such a long drive from Union Station. Suddenly, a lady stopped next to their benches.

"Are you going to the Natural Bridge?" she asked kindly. The three girls nodded silently, wary of the stranger. "Are you part of the tour group?" she inquired. The demigods looked at each other. Clearly one of the gods had taken pity on the ten year olds. Andy told the lady that, yes, they were part of the tour group. "Oh, good! For a while I was scared that I would be late for the tour! Did you know that there is a mock Indian village near the bridge? My great-great-grandmother was a Cherokee princess, you know. (**A/N: If you ask the people at the village what the most common thing they hear is "My great-great-grandmother was a Cherokee princess." They are a Monacan Indian village, not Cherokee.)** And George Washington carved his name on the bridge? I hope we can see the signature from the path! Wouldn't that be so amazing? George Washington's signature! My name's Elizabeth, by the way. Elizabeth Walden." The three demigods just stared at her, mildly scared by the girl's ability to talk so fast. She looked to be in her early twenties, with long brown hair pulled back in a high ponytail and sparkling brown eyes. "Anyway, I better get back to my seat. See you at Union Station!" With a cheery wave, she was gone.

"Do you think that she's a monster?" Silena asked. Andy shook her head.

"I don't think a monster can talk that fast," she said, still in shock from the bombardment of words. Annabeth nodded in agreement. The rest of the ride was spent in quiet chatter, now that they had a way to get to the Natural Bridge.

When the train pulled into Union Station about an hour later, the three girls disembarked to find Elizabeth waiting on the platform for them.

"Come on!" she told them, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Sorry, I know that patience is a virtue. It's just not one of mine," she joked. The demigods smiled, and then the four of them headed out to a bus labeled _Natural Bridge_, Elizabeth chattering away the whole time. The bus ride was filled by the cadence of Elizabeth's voice, which was rather soothing. Soon enough the girls' eyes were drooping. It had been a long day, and the stress of what was to come had worn the three girls out.

Andy woke to someone gently shaking her awake. Elizabeth was leaning over her, telling her that they had reached the Natural Bridge. The anxiety of what the daughter of Poseidon knew was coming washed over her, making her even more jittery than usual. She quickly woke up Annabeth and Silena, and the three of them headed off the bus and towards the bridge.

"Well, now we need a pebble, a flute, and a key," Annabeth said. "Pebbles are all over the place, but perhaps we can find the rest in the gift shop." Andy and Silena nodded in agreement, and they trudged over to the well-stocked gift shop. Once inside, they looked in awe at the collection of goods there. In the front, there was a case full of knives and guns. Above that, there was a small box of worry stones. Throughout the store, there were "Indian" goods, commemorative sweatshirts, necklaces, statues, and random toys. The three girls scattered, looking for the items of the prophecy.

"Andy, look! I found the golden key!" Annabeth said, showing her friend the keychain that had a key dangling underneath the arch of the bridge. "It's called the 'key to the west'," the daughter of Athena said. Andy smiled, then showed Annabeth the Indian flute that she had found. When blown, it produced a sound kind of like an owl hooting. Silena suddenly rushed up, holding a worry stone.

"Guys, look! This stone represents courage! It's totally the pebble that we need," Silena said. Annabeth and Andy looked at each other, then grinned.

"Silena, you're brilliant," Andy said.

**A/N: Again, sorry for the late update and the short chapter. Bear with me for a while, because I have no idea when I'll be able to update again.**


	10. Author's Note 2

**A/N: You guys are going to hate me for this, and I'm really sorry, but I have the worst writer's block on this story. Therefore, I will be on indefinite hiatus. I will try to update, but I might just start another story. I have the attention span of a flea, by the way, so I will probably start another story and then come back to this one. Thanks for being understanding (or not, as the case may be), and I hope I will get another chapter up eventually!**

**HiddenDemigod**


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